Escudo
by soulless emo person
Summary: If Aizen had been aware of Ichigo's abilities, would he have recruited him? This fic explores what might have happened if the main characters of Bleach had been recruited as a group similar to the Espada. (stating the obvious; I do not own bleach)
1. Chapter 1

"Captain Aizen?" Gin poked his head around the doorframe to see the captain of squad five going through some paperwork. "Not now Gin, can't you see that I'm busy?" squad three's captain shuffled nervously from foot to foot. "My apologies, however there has been a fascinating development in one of our hollofication experiments…"

"Oh?"

"Yes sir. Do you perhaps recall the hollow that Tosen referred to as white?"

"What of it? We deemed that case a failure years ago."

"It seems that that may no longer be the case, I think that you may want to see this…"

Gin led captain Aizen to the control room. Aizen stared at the screen blankly, before allowing a minute smirk to lift the corners of his mouth. "I see… so, he has a spiritual pressure level that rivals that of a captain does he? Well then we shall have to observe him carefully…"

Gin smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

A small boy sat by the river. His head was bowed. He had previously been restlessly pacing up and down the river bank, as if looking for something. He started to cry, not for the first time that day. Whilst sitting there, pre-occupied with his own thoughts, Ichigo Kurosaki was unaware that he was being watched…

* * *

Aizen watched the screen with the air of a cat about to pounce.

"Gin, its time."

Gin, who had been trying to teach Tosen how to play chess, looked up from the game. "That was quick." He mused out loud. "It's only been, what, nine years, and his spiritual pressure level is already catching up to yours?"

Aizen made a vague noise of annoyance. "Not yet Gin, however, with the soul society being partially at fault for the death of his mother, this is the perfect opportunity to ally ourselves with him. From the rate at which his power is growing, we can safely assume that he will be a valuable weapon against the soul society. Furthermore, if left alone, he could pose a threat to us." He pulled up the hood of the cloak worn to disguise spiritual pressure. "Also, since you two don't seem to have anything better to do, run a scan over Karakura town, and see if there are any other residents with a strong spiritual pressure. I think that it would be a good idea to recruit some humans to our cause."

"But why? I doubt that we'll find anyone with an equal power-level to him…"

Aizen smiled again. "Well, I highly doubt that even I could persuade Hallibel to get in touch with her maternal instincts, unless you're offering Gin? I thought not. At any rate, the boy needs company. The last thing we want is another Ulquiorra on our hands… see if Nelliel is interested."

With that, Aizen walked through the gateway, and into the world of the living.

* * *

Ichigo, who had been taking a short break from pacing the riverbank, looked up.

"Who're you?"

Aizen crouched down, so that he was at eye-level with Ichigo. "I'm an old work friend of your father's." he tried to look relatively harmless. "So, what are you looking for kid?"

Ichigo looked at the ground. "You'd laugh if I told you"

Aizen smiled encouragingly "I won't laugh."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Ichigo shuffled his feet awkwardly "I was looking for my mom."

"Why, can't you find her?"

Ichigo sniffed, looking close to tears. "She's dead" he mumbled.

Aizen raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Doesn't that mean that nobody would be able to find her? Even you?"

The boy looked angry. "Of course I should be able to find her." He lowered his voice to the tone of someone sharing a secret "I can see ghosts! But don't tell anyone, ok?"

Aizen smiled again. "You know what, since you told me a secret, I'll tell you one. That way it's fair" Ichigo leaned forward eagerly, hoping for something interesting.

"I know the people who were responsible for the death of your mother."

* * *

Back in Hueco Mundo, gin, who had been watching the entire conversation over the monitor, whistled.

"Gets straight to the point, doesn't he, Tosen?"

* * *

Ichigo stepped back, in shock. This made no sense to him, surely it had been an accident?

Did this mean that he wasn't responsible?

Aizen looked carefully at him. He didn't want to have to use kyoka suigetsu, as it was better to command genuine loyalty from potential subordinates, however, if he had to…

Aizen handed Ichigo a soul-pager. "If you want to know more, or if you want to get revenge for your mother…" he said as gently as he felt that he could "contact me with this. You know how to use a mobile phone, don't you?"

Ichigo nodded, numbly. This information was too much to take in. how could this man possibly know all of this?

"Send me a message, telling me where you want to meet up, and when. You don't have to decide straight away, take as long as you need." He ruffled the boy's tangled orange hair "I've got to go now. See you soon kid."

Ichigo stared warily at the device in his hand. When he looked up again, the stranger had vanished.

"Ichigo!"

The loud cry from the raised pavement indicated that his father had come to pick him up. He hastily shoved the soul-pager into his pocket. He wasn't sure what would happen if his dad found it. He didn't want anyone to know yet.

* * *

Around a week later Ichigo sat on the riverbank once more, gazing determinedly at the soul-pager. If there was a reason for his mom's death, he wanted to know the truth.

He hastily typed a place, and pressed send.

* * *

Aizen appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I would have thought that you could have come up with a more original place to meet. This whole 'under a shady bridge' thing is very cliché."

Ichigo pouted. "Hey, it's the only place I can go without my dad bugging me, ok?"

He appeared to calm down again. "Anyway, I want to know the truth. All of it."

Aizen smiled calmly. He'd won him over.

* * *

"So, these people called soul reapers are meant to kill these hollow things?" Ichigo asked.

Aizen nodded patiently.

"But because they didn't do their job, my mom died?"

Aizen nodded again. "Technically speaking, your mother should have had some soul reapers watching over her, because she was a special type of human called a 'Quincy', so they should have saved her, but they decided not to."

Ichigo was visibly angry, clenching his fists violently. He seemed puzzled though.

"What's a 'Quincy'?"

Aizen sighed, and explained, realising that the boy would want to know in detail.

Once he had finished his explanation, he looked down at Ichigo, seeing an entirely different expression in the boy's eyes.

"Mr Aizen, I want to get revenge for my mom. I want the soul society to pay for what it's done, and I want to see it burn."

* * *

Back under the bridge, Aizen stared down at Ichigo, holding out his sword.

"Are you sure that you want to do this Ichigo? It could be incredibly painful."

The boy nodded resolutely.

Aizen put on a fake sigh of exasperation.

"Well, don't say that I didn't warn you… you do understand what's about to happen, don't you?"

Once again, he nodded. "So, when I stab myself with this zan-pak… errrr, sword, I get some of your powers, right?"

Aizen smiled. At least the boy wasn't totally stupid.

"Yes, and hopefully, you'll get some of your own powers as well. Then, when we reach Hueco Mundo, Gin, Kaname, and myself, will be able to train you to the best of your abilities." He paused, before continuing.

"You do understand that you will never be able to see your family again, don't you Ichigo?"

At this, Ichigo stiffened, about to cry.

"I know that!" he sobbed, wiping his nose. "but I know that they'd understand if it means getting back at mom's killers!"

He grabbed onto kyoka suigetsu, and viciously stabbed the point into his stomach.

* * *

"How is the boy coming along, Tosen?" Aizen entered the observations room, practically soundlessly, and stood next to the squad nine captain. Through the screen, it was possible to see Ichigo. He was clad in one of the white uniforms, provided by Aizen to his subordinates, and was hacking desperately, towards a green-haired woman, with a large sword.

Aizen looked slightly disgusted. "That's his sword? It looks like an oversized meat-knife."

"Now now, don't be so judgemental Captain Aizen." Gin materialized from the shadows. "From what I've seen, its current shikai-state has quite impressive capabilities…"

As if on-cue, the sword released a bright-blue bolt of energy. Whilst it was clearly aimed towards his opponent, it missed its target, instead cleaving a massive chunk of plaster from the wall. Satisfied, Aizen nodded. Alarmed voices could be heard from outside, as the woman fighting Ichigo trotted towards him.

"Well done!" she said encouragingly, suffocating him with a hug. "You're getting much better at summoning that attack, Itsygo!"

Tosen wrinkled his nose. "Are you sure that Miss Tu Odelschwanck was the best trainer that you could find for the boy? I still firmly believe that one of the others would have been a far better alternative."

Gin sighed. "Starrk and Barragan's fighting styles are too different from his, he'd be killed within seconds. Ulquiorra, being number five, would have been preferable, but I highly doubt that he'd be willing to put up with a child for any extended amount of time, if at all. Dordoni, number six, isn't powerful enough to truly release his full potential. Sanderwicci, despite being number seven, also has a very alternative fighting style, and would not be suited to this kind of training. Eight and nine, Noitora and Aaroniero would both traumatize the poor kid. As for Szayelapporro, he's a combination of all of the previous problems rolled into one… in short, there was nobody else…"

Tosen raised his eyebrows. "What about the number four espada, Miss Harribel?"

Gin seemed to visibly shrink. "Honestly? I didn't ask, she scares me…"

"Ah."

After a silence that was slightly too long, Gin spoke up.

"Oh, and by the way, Captain Aizen, I succeeded in finding another high spiritual pressure in the Karakura town area."

"Oh? That was surprisingly quick of you Gin."

Ignoring the comment, Gin ploughed on.

"It seems to belong to a boy of a similar age, and whilst his spiritual pressure is not quite as strong, his abilities are far more advanced. Apparently, he's even related to Kurosaki. The family name is Ishida, and, if memory serves, his father was one of the quinces who was in contact with Isshin Shiba, during his time in the world of the living." He drew a short breath. "In short, he is incredibly well suited to the task."

Aizen smirked. "I suppose I'll have to recruit him as well then. Gin, fetch my cloak..."

* * *

_Hi guys, yes, I know that not a lot happened in this chapter. there should be loads happening in the next chapter, which should show up sometime next month... idk, it depends how popular this chapter is._

_thanks for reading B)_


	2. Chapter 2

Aizen hovered above a busy street. The situation he was in was somewhat… inconvenient. The fact that he might end up having to approach the boy in a crowded street was far from ideal, he was not relishing the idea of using kyoka suigetsu on so many people, for such a small purpose. This was going to be slightly more challenging than the previous recruitment.

Suddenly, Aizen saw a way out of this situation. The boy was turning into an alley, more to the point, an alley that did not appear to contain any people.

Aizen pounced.

* * *

"Hello."

The boy spun around, hands up, defensive.

"Who are you?" he asked. From the tone of his voice, Aizen could tell that he was going to prove more difficult to recruit than Ichigo had.

Aizen plastered a friendly smile on his face, and started talking to the boy.

"Hello, I'm your cousin's employer. I thought that you might be interested in a job."

The boy glared at him.

"You're lying."

Aizen solemnly vowed to himself that he would never have children of his own. They could be exceedingly irritating.

"Well, as it happens, I'm not. What makes you think that though?"

Uryu released one hand from its defensive position, to push his glasses up his nose.

"Firstly, if you were a trustworthy person, the chances are that you would have approached me in the street, rather than in this alley."

Aizen raised his eyebrows. He had been right. Maybe this challenge would even entertain him slightly.

"Secondly, I do not have any cousins, let alone any that are old enough to be employed."

Aizen grinned, a fox-like smile. "Well, you see-"

"And as a third point…" the boy dropped his schoolbag.

"…my family does not have any business with _soul reapers_."

Aizen was quite close to breaking his calm façade. The little brat had interrupted him. He nearly smacked the boy right then, but thought better of it when he saw what the boy was holding in his right hand.

A long-bow, made of reishi, and flickering weakly, burned brightly as the boy aimed an arrow straight towards Aizen.

Despite the fact that the child was clearly struggling to maintain the form of the bow, the fact that he could summon one at all was impressive. It was insanely rare for an eleven year old Quincy to be this advanced. Aizen smiled. Gin had done a good job, finding this boy.

He still needed to persuade him though…

Aizen raised his hands, to show that he meant no harm.

"Easy, kid. I just wanted to talk."

Uryu narrowed his eyes. "Don't patronise me, soul reaper. What do you want to talk about?"

By now it was clear that keeping the bow's shape was taking a monumental amount of effort. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.

Aizen decided to appeal to him in a way that befitted his IQ.

"Listen, let's just say that I'm not like the other soul reapers. Their morals are kind of questionable." He sighed. "You can put away that bow if you want, I'm not going to hurt you."

"How can I trust your word on that?" Uryu muttered through gritted teeth.

Aizen sighed once again.

"Look, let's just say that your father isn't being entirely honest with you. Especially about your cousin. Use this when you want to know more." With that, he placed a soul pager on the ground between them, and vanished.

* * *

"Well, well, Captain Aizen, that went well, didn't it?" Gin smirked, as he took Aizen's cloak.

Aizen remained calm.

"Gin, for your own sake, as well as that of those around you, learn when to shut up."

He sat down at the monitor.

"How is Kurosaki progressing? Has any sign of hollowfication emerged yet?"

Gin shifted from foot to foot.

"Well, according to Nel, it's only a matter of weeks now." He stepped back slightly, unsure of what the response would be.

Remarkably, Aizen did not react.

"Tell her to start his bankai training as soon as possible. Use the Kiskue Urahara method, if necessary." He leaned back in his chair.

"We attack squad twelve soon…"


End file.
